“So, how’s the food? I heard it’s pretty good” Tony said as he cut himself another piece of salmon. He had personally booked an entire restaurant for the Avengers Christmas dinner, not even bothering to cut down on the amount of food on the now crowded table.

prompt: the reader wants nothing more than to find the strength to tell liam she loves him. but with hayden in the way and the supernatural drama that’s been keeping him away from her, she can’t help but wonder if she should just let him go.

(a/n): this is the 2nd (and last) part of closer. if you’d like to read the first part, click here. btw this is kind of long soooo i’m sorry but also not sorry, u feel?

It was Monday morning, and the air outside was cool from the previous nights’ rain. The sun that was usually so prominent in Beacon Hills, California was hidden behind a cover of dark clouds, and the wind had picked up since you’d left home.

The shrill sound of the warning bell echoed throughout the halls. You closed your locker with a huff and slipped your textbook into your bag. Your science final was in less than five minutes, and as you trudged to class you hoped that your night of studying would pay off.

You hadn’t spoken to Liam since the incident in the library, and he hadn’t been to class in a week. You didn’t want to admit it–but you missed him. And as you plopped down onto your chair, you couldn’t help but wonder if you were the reason he’d been skipping class.

The previous week felt longer than usual with him not there, and your weekend proved equally boring without his company. You tried to think of the bright side; with him gone, you didn’t have to feel so uptight or awkward. You could go on with your life, and finally forget about the supernatural drama you always found yourself being dragged into. And most importantly, you didn’t have to see him with her.

You glanced at the empty seat beside you. The black table top was covered with his pencil drawings; stick figures and random doodles that he’d penciled in when he deemed the class not worth paying any attention to. His grade had dropped–something that didn’t come as a surprise when he’d told you–and he’d needed help bringing it up. You were so eager to tutor him; you hadn’t hung out one-on-one in weeks. Sure, it wasn’t exactly “hanging out”. But, you weren’t complaining.

Hayden had showed up then, and suddenly it was like you were all but a distant memory to him. He skipped out on your tutoring sessions so many times you didn’t even know why you bothered showing up. But, when he finally did, you realized why–you loved him. And you didn’t want to let him down. So, why did you push him away like that? Why, for the first time in months since you’d known and befriended him, did you suddenly put your foot down?

The classroom door opened just as the final bell rang, and Liam rushed in, hair tousled and textbook in hand. He ignored the teacher’s dissaproving gaze and dropped into the seat beside you. You were grateful for the distraction when the test had been handed to you, and hurriedly scribbled your name at the top. The faster you were done meant the earlier you could scoot out, and you didn’t want to waste any time.

“[Y/N]?”

You froze at the sound of his voice. You glanced up from your test and eyed your teacher, watching as he fiddled with something on his computer, and turned toward Liam. His hair stuck out in several directions, and the bags under his eyes were dark and unmistakable. He’d had a rough morning; and as much as you wanted to ignore him, to be angry at him and tell him he’d hurt you, you couldn’t find it in your heart to do so.

“What’s up?” you whispered.

He nodded at your pencil pouch, and you had to fight the smile that was tugging at your lips. Of course he needed a pencil. You unzipped it and held out a pen, your fingertips brushing his when he took it from your hand. You felt a familiar heat rise to your cheeks, and turned back to your test. You couldn’t seem to think straight as you bubbled in answers, and once you’d finished and turned it in, you didn’t even want to think about what the results would be.

You shrugged on your jacket and grabbed your bag from the floor, all the while avoiding Liam’s curious eyes. You hurried out of the room, relief washing over you when he was finally out of sight, and plunked down onto a bench near the courtyard doors. You pulled your legs to your chest and rested your cheek atop your knees. Your head had begun to throb, and you wanted nothing more than to go home and crawl back into bed.

“[Y/N]? Are you okay?”

You looked up through the curtain of hair that had fallen past your shoulders and watched as Liam knelt down in front of your hunched form. He took your hand in his and gave it a reassuring squeeze, his brows furrowed and his eyes filled with some emotion you couldn’t quite place your finger on. “What’s wrong?” he whispered.

You pulled your hand away and threw your hands around him, the familiar scent of his cologne filling your nostrils when you rested your cheek on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, Liam”, you murmured. “I’m so sorry.”

He wrapped his arms around your waist and pulled you closer to his chest. “Why are you sorry?” he whispered. “You didn’t do anything; this is my fault. I shouldn’t have put you off to the side.” He pulled away to cup your cheeks and lifted your head. “I shouldn’t have pushed you away. I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault–” you began, but before you could finish, his lips were on yours. The kiss had caught you off guard, and once he’d pulled his swollen lips away from yours, you had to catch your breath. “Wow.”

He rested his forehead against yours and chuckled, his arms still wrapped tightly you. You relished in the feeling of being in his arms; they were strong, inviting. You didn’t want to ever have to leave them. “I love you, Liam”, you blurted out. You hadn’t been able to stop yourself, but you were caught up in the moment and couldn’t bring yourself to care. He smiled and leaned in, his breath tickling your cheeks.

“I love you, too”, he murmured, and swept your lips into a sweet kiss once more.

“Either this kid is the best actor in the world or he’s CGI too.” Scooting further back in the chair with popcorn in lap, though he was tempted to do so, Wes refrained from pulling out his phone to check to see if the little ‘man-cub’ was real or if he like everyone else in the movie was CGI. “Seriously can’t fucking tell.”

“Someone I want to send a message to…should be my fans. I am sorry that at concerts, I don’t really respond to your fanservice requests. Normally I could just wave my hands at you, or at best, throw flying kisses to you. Even if it’s only that much, I really am trying my best. I am an extremely shy person, so it’s embarrassing for me. I’m still able to keep my composure if it’s just staff-san or the likes, but I get really nervous around girls. When I was in school, when a girl dropped her eraser and asked me to pick it up for her, I got super nervous. Girls have really high mental age right? So I thought that they would see right through me, that would be scary. It’s because of that reason that when I heard people calling my name on the street…I can’t even chuckle or grin or anything like that…I always react much later in time. Thank you for supporting and loving such a person like me! Really, I am very thankful!”

Why is it that every time you ship a character who’s under 18 with a character who’s over 18, everyone immediately assumes that you want them to have sex like right now and that you condone pedophilia???? As opposed to just thinking that they have an interesting dynamic that could evolve into a romantic relationship years into the future???